Treatment Levels
There are four main levels to wastewater treatment systems: primary, advanced primary, secondary and advanced secondary.
For ecologically sensitive areas, systems can also be tertiary/UV and denitrify the water which removes harmful bacteria and nitrogen from the water.
Primary systems (such as septic tanks) use anaerobic bacteria to break down material slowly and remove contaminants through a simple process of sedimentation and floatation.
Advanced primary systems such as our NaturalFlow treat wastewater using a media trickling filter combined with vermiculture processes to break down and compost waste products.
Secondary systems such as Biolytix provide additional treatment to wastewater before it is disposed of. Biolytix nature-inspired technology is a unique blend of vermiculture with subtle aeration provides council-approved secondary treatment.
Providing the next level of care, advanced secondary systems, such as the aerated wastewater treatment system EconoTreat, are ideal for ecologically sensitive areas. EconoTreat is OSET tested and council approved; making the consent process simple.
Tertiary systems follow the same process as secondary treatment however the addition of UV further cleans the water by removing bacteria and contaminants such as E. coli.
EconoTreat is a great example of a tertiary system.
A high concentration of nitrogen can cause problems to the ecosystem. Denitrification turns the nitrogen into a harmless gas. Not all advanced secondary treatment systems denitrify wastewater, but EconoTreat does.
It’s ability to reduce nitrogen is one of the reasons why it is suitable for even the most sensitive ecosystems.
